Soroco, Vail Christian basketball, RPI and you

Yes, we had to go old school to find a Vail Christian-Soroco basketball photo. That's Cooper Gould driving to the net during a 62-57 win over the Rams a few years ago. If yuou look closely, the Saints' bench may be familiar. Both Vail Christian teams are in Oak Creek on Thursday, Jan. 18 for games against the Rams.Joel Reichenberger |Daily file photo |

Upon further review, rating-percentage index does matter for Vail Christian basketball.

Yes, I was right that RPI doesn’t factor in until the state tournament. It’s just that the 2A state tournament starts with 32 teams this year, as opposed to eight in previous years.

My bad. Thanks, Tim Pierson. He’s the athletic director at Vail Christian, but you know that if you’re reading this.

The Saints still have the district tournament in DeBeque, but the 2A Slope gets five teams into state, which has eaten the old regional round.

So where does this put with the Saints with regard to RPI?

There is the natural inclination to complain about Vail Christian’s 10-0 girls being ranked No. 17 and the 9-1 boys being 22. I’ll agree with you that 2A schools should get a boost in the computers for playing 3A and 4A schools.

But as a person who spends far too much of his life on chsaanow.com, looking at RPI, there is a simple and elegant solution to this.

Win.

The road for the ladies

Yes, both sets of Saints are having their computer numbers dragged down by opponents’ winning percentage (OWP), 50 percent of RPI. This changes for the girls on Thursday, Jan. 18, at Soroco.

The Saints ladies have nine games left in the regular season and eight of them are against winning records, Caprock Academy being the exception. Starting Thursday, the Saints’ opponents’ combined record is 52-30.

Since the Vail Christian girls basketball coach is Doug Bruce, who is slightly proficient in math, he’ll tell you that 52-30 is .634 winning percentage which will go into the Saints’ OWP as the season progresses.

Numbers aside, ladies, you know your history with Soroco. You know that you’re going to get a questionable call or two go against you in Oak Creek. That’s a part of the deal of playing on the road.

You’ve doubtless seen on the internet that the Rams took Paonia to the woodshed last weekend. You also know you can play with Soroco. The Rams haven’t run the Saints out of any building, be it Oak Creek, Edwards or districts.

Play your game. The Rams press? You can break the press. The Rams play zone? Bombs away from beyond the arc. You have the answers.

Play your game.

The road for the gents

Yes, you should win at Soroco. You’re 9-1 and the Rams are 1-8. This is a rivalry game. Soroco would like nothing more than to serve you up a you-know-what-burger.

Just like the ladies, something bad will happen in Soroco because you never get a call in Oak Creek. Posts, stay out of foul trouble. Subliminal message — Ethan Kuhns. Yes, I am picking on you.

What’s more, you guys just aren’t good enough to show up in a gym and win a game. You were an 8-12 team last year. You’re still proving yourself.

Good teams take care of business. There is no looking ahead to Meeker. The town of Meeker doesn’t exist on Thursday. Take care of Soroco.

With nine games left, seven are against teams with winning records. Vail Christian’s opponents have a .580 winning percentage. Win and the RPI will take care of itself.

I interviewed to Bryan Trujillo after the Saints beat Eagle Valley, and he talked about how it was sweet revenge for Vail Christian after last year.

Well, not looking past Soroco, which is a must-win, but Meeker, Paonia, Cedaredge, Roaring Fork and Hotchkiss twice, fellas. You have more scores to settle.

Major League Triathlon will return to Harry A. Nottingham Park Sept. 6-8, 2019, bringing with it a three-day festival featuring running, cycling and swimming competitions for all ages and abilities, as well as two days of free concerts, kids zones, food vendors, an interactive expo, a beer and wine garden and more.